The Song dynasty was a major era in Chinese history. In this lesson, we are going to examine some artistic and religious changes that occurred and see what impact they had on Chinese society.

The Song Dynasty

What is traditional Chinese culture? Chinese civilization traces its roots back millennia, which means that China has seen a lot of culture. So, which parts of this history make up what we now see as the most important parts of China's heritage? One era that had tremendous impact on Chinese civilization was the Song dynasty, an era from 960-1279 when China was unified under a strong imperial family. We can further divide this era into the Northern Song (960-1127) and Southern Song (1127-1279), based on the location of the capital city and other changes. Song China was a place of prosperity and growth, where culture thrived and set many precedents still seen as traditions in China to this day.

Art in Song China

The emperors of the Song dynasty prided themselves on their intellectual sophistication. Combined with an era of wealth and relative peace, this encouraged a culture of artistic devotion. The emperors themselves were trained in the arts and saw it as their civic duty to patronize the arts as affluently as possible. Other wealthy members of society emulated this attitude, and the arts flourished.

Ink Painting

While many forms of art grew under the Song dynasty, two in particular merit attention. First is ink painting, specifically of natural scenes and landscapes. The Song dynasty had reunified China after a period of chaos, and scholars headed into the mountains to reconnect with the purity and honesty of nature. The result was a wave of landscape paintings created with washed ink on silk. These paintings were austere and tranquil, and they spoke to the introspective intellectual and spiritual calm of the Song dynasty. Landscape paintings were often styled as metaphors for Chinese society, in which a tall and solid mountain guarded over villages, as the emperor stood over China. Major artists from this era include Li Cheng (c. 919-967) and Fan Kuan (c. 960-1030), as well as Zhang Zeduan (c. 1085-1145), who captured scenes of urban life in the capital city of the Northern Song, Beijing.

Ink painting by Fan Kuan

Pottery

Painting was the hallmark art form of the Northern Song, and while it remained popular in the Southern Song other arts were just as popular. Pottery was a major form of decorative arts in this era, with Chinese kilns developing new techniques and styles. The soft green and blue glazed forms of Chinese pottery were especially notable styles, as were forms defined by the translucent porcelain specific to the Southern Song.

Song-era ceramic

Religion in the Song Dynasty

Religion has always held an interesting place in Chinese society, where the concepts of philosophy and religion are often interchangeable. In the Song dynasty, the rise in artistic and intellectual cultures of China was accompanied with new ideas about religion, which found new impacts in society.

Neo-Confucianism

Confucianism may be one of the most famous philosophical doctrines to come out of China, and while it's not really a religion it did play a major part in moral society. Confucianism itself is millennia old, but this ancient ideology was revitalized in the Song as neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism put the rules of Confucianism that dictated family, social, and class relationships into practice. Government positions were based on merit and civil service examinations, not wealth or family name, and society was re-evaluated in terms of moral, reciprocal relationships between people.

Daoism

While neo-Confucianism helped promote a moral and structured society, the Chinese religion of Daoism provided a framework for understanding the spiritual world. Daoism describes existence in terms of spiritual energy and promotes health and happiness through achieving harmony with those energies. As a religion largely focused on physical health, Daoism flirts with the line between religion and science. In the intellectual culture of the Song, Daoism flourished thanks to medical studies and advancements made by Chinese doctors who combined medicinal remedies with spiritual approaches to promote ultimate harmony within their patients.

Buddhism

The last major religion of the Song dynasty was Buddhism. As a foreign religion, Buddhism has occupied an interesting place in Chinese history. Sometimes it was embraced; other times (as in the era before the ascension of the Song), it was heavily persecuted. In the Song dynasty, the Chan sect of Buddhism became the most popular, with Chan monasteries emerging as bustling centers of social and economic activity. Buddhist monks also participated heavily in the intellectual culture of the Song. The cultural and economic power of the monasteries made many emperors nervous, and the Song rulers attempted to limit Buddhist influence by requiring monks to purchase tax-exemption certificates before joining a monastery. Still, Buddhism provided a religious framework not offered in other Chinese ideologies, focusing on the afterlife and relief of suffering. To peasants of the Song dynasty, that message was music to the ears.

Buddhist carving from the Song dynasty

Lesson Summary

The Song dynasty was a period in China from 960 to 1279 characterized by intellectual growth, prosperity, and relative peace. The strong intellectual culture promoted the arts, which flourished. Washed ink painting was a major art form of the Northern Song, focused largely on landscapes as symbols of tranquility or metaphors of Chinese society. Pottery was another major form of art in the Song as well. Along with artistic growth came religious growth. Neo-Confucianism applied Confucian values or morality to the Chinese government and society. Daoism flourished as doctors looked for new combinations of medicinal and spiritual healing and health. Buddhism grew in popularity, especially the Chan sect, but also garnered suspicion amongst the nobility. It was a period of change and growth for China, and one that would help establish traditions that would define the nation for centuries to come.

Summary:

Earning College Credit

Did you know… We have over 160 college
courses that prepare you to earn
credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the
first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn
credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.